Three days after warning of a City Hall housecleaning fueled by disloyalty, Mayor Brandon Johnson dropped the first other shoe — by announcing the “retirement” of Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week that Rhee was among those whose days could be numbered as Johnson seeks to act on his claim that he should have “cleaned house faster” when he took office and now plans to correct that mistake by sending people packing.
“If you ain’t with us, you just gotta go,” the mayor said.
It happened quicker than anyone expected.
The mayor’s office announced Rhee will retire effective April 15. Her seven-year reign overseeing the operation and massive transformation at O’Hare and Midway airports will come to an end amid the massive O’Hare overhaul.
“Throughout her decades-long career, Commissioner Rhee embodied the best of public service, and she has left an indelible mark on our airports and our city,” Johnson was quoted as saying in press release that made no mention of his decision to begin forcing people out.
“Her work has improved the travel experience for hundreds of millions of visitors that will be felt for generations to come. Her unwavering commitment to diverse businesses of all types and sizes has opened countless doors for Chicagoans who have been shut out for far too long. I want to thank Commissioner Rhee for her tremendous service to our city and our people.”
The release quoted Rhee as saying she was “eternally grateful for the opportunities that have been afforded to me” and “extremely proud of the work that’s been accomplished to move our City and our airports forward.”
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), one of Rhee’s City Hall champions, called the changing of the guard at O’Hare a “terrible decision in a string of terrible decisions by this mayor.”
Hopkins scoffed at Johnson’s claim that Rhee was “retiring” from a job she loved in the middle of the O’Hare modernization project.
He has no doubt she was forced out. The move was so “gut-wrenching” that Hopkins shouted “Oh, no!” when he was told.
“This is a mistake on so many levels, I don’t know where to begin,” an outraged Hopkins said.
“While we’re in the middle of continued negotiations with the major airlines over their commitment to fund O’Hare modernization, there is no one more equipped to bridge that gap between where the two sides are than Jamie Rhee. She has respect in the aviation industry. She has confidence in city government going back to her work in Procurement, which is important given some of the major contracts that are up for bid right now.”
Hopkins said he understands that mayors “need loyalty” from their department heads and agency chiefs — but, he added, a mayor also needs to place a “high premium on competence and experience.” Rhee delivered on both fronts, he said.
“I don’t think anyone could make the accusation that Commissioner Rhee wasn’t loyal to the administration. She was doing her job with the utmost professionalism. I don’t see any justification to remove her,” Hopkins said.
The front-runner to replace Rhee is Johnson’s Chief Operating Officer John Roberson, who served as Aviation Commissioner during several roles he played during the administration of former Mayor Richard M. Daley.
The press release announcing Rhee’s departure cites a series of accomplishments:
• Reconfiguring the airfield at O’Hare — from an intersecting system of runways to a parallel configuration that reduced “system impacted delays” by 66%.
• Modernizing Terminal 5 at O’Hare by adding 350,000 square feet, 10 new gates and a new parking facility.
• Securing approval for $90 million worth of “discretional federal funding” for improvements at O’Hare’s Terminal 3 and $20 million more for Terminal 5.
• Expanding the new security checkpoint at Midway to serve 5,000 passengers per hour, double the previous capacity.
• Completing the Midway Modernization Project, which included a $75 million concession overhaul that achieved “one of the highest” participation levels in the nation for disadvantaged businesses.
Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th), chair of the City Council’s Aviation Committee, could not be reached for comment on Rhee’s departure.
The changing of the guard at O’Hare and Midway comes just three days after Johnson’s ominous warning about high-level changes he planned as part of, what amounts to a mid-term course correction.
During an appearance Monday night at New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, 754 E. 77th St. It was the first in a series of appearances Johnson is calling his “Faith in Government” initiative.
“If there was something I could change or do differently or just reset, I would have cleaned house faster,” Johnson said.
After a long pause, Johnson harkened back to his religious background as a preacher’s son.
“I was raised a certain way. I’m just being honest. And there were a number of people that I inherited in my administration. And I was trying to show Godly presentation that we can work with people who come from other administrations. … They don’t have to agree with me 100% to work within my administration,” the mayor said.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have done that. If you ain’t with us, you just gotta go. So now I’m in a position now where I’ll be making some decisions in the days to come because playing nice with other people who ain’t about us — it’s just a waste of exercise,” he said.
The church audience seemed stunned. Some could be heard saying, “Oooh” and “Wow.”
“So there’s a whole bunch of people saying, ‘Oh, shoot. Who’s about to get fired?’” Johnson added. “Well, you about to find out. Stay tuned.”